Hoberman Associates Partners with Leading Design Teams to Create the Expanding Video Screen for U2`s 360º Tour

Hoberman Associates, Innovative Designs and Barco Debut the Awe-Inspiring
Expanding Video Screen on June 30, 2009 in Barcelona, Spain
NEW YORK--(Business Wire)--
Hoberman Associates, Inc.

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Hoberman Associates, Inc., a New York-based design firm, in partnership with
Innovative Designs and its parent company Barco, has created the centerpiece for
the U2 360º tour - the Expanding Video Screen - that debuts today during the
band`s opening night in Barcelona, Spain.

While large video screens are a familiar fixture for arena style rock concerts,
U2 was looking for something unprecedented for its 360º tour - a giant screen
that could change its size and shape.

Chuck Hoberman, along with U2`s creative team of Willie Williams and Mark
Fisher, and Frederick Opsomer of Innovative Designs, collaborated to
conceptualize this fusion of architecture, stage scenery and extreme technology.
They came up with a design for an elliptical video display, approximately the
size of a tennis court that could morph into a 7-story high cone-shaped
structure, enveloping the band as it extends.

Constructed of stainless steel and aircraft aluminum, the display is made of 888
LED screens, with 500,000 pixels spanning across them, providing concertgoers
with clear and visually stunning images. It has a screen area of 3,800 square
feet, and weighs approximately 120,000 pounds.

Suspended from the center of "The Claw," the main stage set named for its
futuristic, four-legged design, the Expanding Video Screen provides U2 fans the
first-ever 360-degree concert view. With a height of 164 feet, the entire U2
360º set is twice as tall as the stage from the Rolling Stones` A Bigger Bang
tour, which was the largest stadium set built to date, according to Rolling
Stone magazine. Accordingly, every seat in the U2 tour`s 75,000-plus seat
stadiums will have a completely unobstructed view of the show.

Chuck Hoberman, founder of Hoberman Associates, Inc. stated, "The Expanding
Video Screen fuses technology, design and architecture. It`s a video display
that becomes something else, a living theatrical event. This project has been a
true feat of engineering, accomplished by a fantastic team of architects,
engineers and artists. We are thrilled to be a part of the U2 concert experience
and give every fan in every seat of the stadium a clear and unique perspective
of Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen."

The Expanding Video Screen`s development is based on Hoberman`s patented `Iris
Structure` that has been realized in other forms, including the Iris Dome at The
Museum of Modern Art (New York City, 1994), the Iris Dome at the World`s Fair
(Hanover, Germany, 1999) and the Olympic Arch (Salt Lake City, Utah, 2002).

Innovative Designs and Hoberman Associates were responsible for screen design
and engineering, while screen production was conducted by Barco and Innovative
Designs. Engineering firm Buro Happold provided all structural analysis for the
screen`s development.

To create the Expanding Video Screen`s atypical design, the Hoberman team had to
overcome multiple technical challenges, including designing a product that will
withstand high winds and inclement weather. In addition, the Expanding Video
Screen must possess the durability to last the rigors of an 18-month tour,
including tight eight-hour assembly and six-hour disassembly time frames.

When not projecting live shots of the band performing, the Expanding Video
Screen`s imagery is directed by New York-based Irish artist Catherine Owens, who
also directed the U2 3D concert film in 2007.

About Hoberman Associates, Inc.

Nowhere do the disciplines of art, architecture and engineering fuse as
seamlessly as in the work of inventor Chuck Hoberman, the founder of Hoberman
Associates, a multidisciplinary practice that specializes in Transformable
Design-the development of products, structures, and environments that change
their size and shape.

Hoberman demonstrates that objects which are foldable, retractable or
shape-shifting have functional benefits: portability, instantaneous opening, and
intelligent responsiveness to the built environment. The practice works on
diverse projects, from consumer products to deployable shelters, space
structures, and buildings.

For more information, please visit http://www.hoberman.com.

Affect Strategies
Leslie Campisi, 212-398-9680 x144
lcampisi@affectstrategies.com
or
Hoberman Associates, Inc.
Craig Holland, 212-349-7919 x 223
craig@hoberman.com

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